Wearable Tech Comes into Its Own

If you don’t already own a wearable tech device, or know someone who does, that’s likely to change in the near future. The Guardian reports that 2015 could be the year that wearable technology, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, breaks into the mainstream. There are two broad reasons for this. First, wearable tech is beginning to offer increasingly sophisticated capabilities, beyond simply counting steps or estimating calorie intake (or burn). For example, some up-and-coming health and fitness features include:

Measuring light and UV (ultraviolet) exposure

Calculating the heart’s electrical activity through earphones

Uploading data to a comprehensive health software platform, which will aggregate the information to be viewed privately or by a doctor

Yet these are just a few of the more ordinary functions wearable tech could offer. An article in Wired highlights other capabilities that seem straight out of a sci-fi movie—like adjusting your daily agenda to match your stress levels, or charting a course to breakfast that takes you past restaurants whose menus don’t fit your immediate nutritional needs.

Coming back down to planet Earth for a moment, the other big reason wearable tech could take off in 2015 can be encapsulated in one word: Apple. Apple plans to release its smartwatch in the spring of 2015. While some of the watch’s functionality is still in question, Apple’s influence in the market suggests that the company will propel wearable tech sales to a new level. Indeed, according to market research, there has been a 50% rise in consumer intention between May and October 2014 to purchase a fitness tracker, with the biggest increase coming from iPhone users.